South Asia a rising force in global meth tradeISLAMABAD (AP) — Iran, Pakistan and other South Asian countries are a fast-rising force in the global methamphetamine market, with drug cartels thriving off the weak governance and law enforcement that have long fueled the region’s heroin trade. This environment has allowed criminals to tap into the countries’ relatively advanced pharmaceutical industries to get their hands on meth’s two main ingredients: ephedrine and pseudoephedrine. The dru...

Chinese activist who fled house arrest lands in USBEIJING (AP) — A blind Chinese legal activist who was suddenly allowed to leave the country arrived in the U.S. on Saturday, ending a nearly monthlong diplomatic tussle that had tested U.S.-China relations. Chen Guangcheng had been hurriedly taken from a hospital hours earlier and put on a plane for the United States after Chinese authorities suddenly told him to pack and prepare to leave. He arrived Saturday evening at Newark Liberty Internat...

Emergency law considered in Quebec student protestMONTREAL (AP) — Facing the most sustained student protests in Canadian history, Quebec’s provincial government introduced emergency legislation Thursday that would shut some universities and impose harsh fines on pickets blocking students from attending classes as the government looked to end three months of demonstrations against university tuition hikes. Hundreds of protesters gathered in downtown Montreal on Thursday night as the government...

Yemeni army pushing into al-Qaida strongholdSANAA, Yemen (AP) — Government troops battling al-Qaida fighters in southern Yemen have made inroads into the militants’ strongholds, but the offensive on a strategic city has slowed because of concerns the extremists could launch a surprise counterattack, military officials said Thursday. Backed by heavy artillery and warplanes, Yemeni troops have advanced into Zinjibar, the capital of Abyan province, which fell under the control of al-Qaida-...

Caretaker Greek Cabinet, legislators sworn inATHENS, Greece (AP) — Greece swore in 300 legislators for just one day before it dissolves Parliament and calls new elections, among them 21 lawmakers from Golden Dawn — arguably the most far-right party to be involved in a European national legislature since Nazi-era Germany. Formerly a shadowy fringe group, Golden Dawn vehemently rejects the neo-Nazi label, insisting it is a nationalist patriotic party, but its meteoric rise from a largely m...

Reverberations from drug raid felt in US, HondurasTEGUCIGALPA, Honduras (AP) — Bullets flew as U.S. helicopters swooped toward a river boat. Honduran national police rappelled to the ground and locals scattered after loading close to 1,000 pounds of cocaine. Now reverberations from a drug raid that locals say killed four innocent people are being felt from the sultry jungles of Central America to Capitol Hill. Last week’s DEA-supported predawn raid on the banks of a remote Honduran river bega...

Cuban president’s daughter gets US visaHAVANA (AP) — Cuban first daughter Mariela Castro has been granted a U.S. visa to attend events in San Francisco and New York, sparking a firestorm of criticism from Cuban-American politicians who called her an enemy of democracy and a shill for the Communist government her family has led for decades. The trip, which kicks off next week when Castro is due to chair a panel on sexual diversity at a conference organized by the Latin American Stud...

Judge delays Mladic trial due to evidence errorsTHE HAGUE, Netherlands (AP) — An apparent clerical error prompted judges to postpone the long-awaited war crimes trial of former Bosnian Serb military leader Ratko Mladic on Thursday, possibly for months. The delay cast a shadow over one of the court’s biggest cases — and over the reputation of the court itself, where most prominent trials have proceeded at a snail’s pace, frustrating many victims. It also highlighted problems faced by interna...

Anger, drama at Ratko Mladic’s genocide trialTHE HAGUE, Netherlands (AP) — He’s no longer the swaggering general who held Sarajevo “in the palm of his hand” during Bosnia’s 1992-95 war. Yet as his long-awaited genocide trial began Wednesday, Ratko Mladic still managed to reopen old wounds with the flick of his hand. Hobbled by strokes and wearing a business suit instead of combat fatigues, the frail, 70-year-old defendant had an angry exchange of hand gestures with the families of massac...

Syrian leader says terrorists are behind unrestBEIRUT (AP) — In his first interview since December, Syrian President Bashar Assad insisted Tuesday his regime is fighting back against foreign mercenaries who want to overthrow him, not innocent Syrians aspiring for democracy in a yearlong uprising. The interview with Russian TV showed Assad is still standing his ground, despite widespread international condemnation over his deadly crackdown on dissent. “There are foreign mercenaries, some of...

Greece gets caretaker PM until new vote in JuneATHENS, Greece (AP) — A senior judge has been sworn in to head Greece’s caretaker government for a month as the debt-crippled country lurches through a political crisis that threatens its membership in the 17-nation eurozone. The political uncertainty is worrying Greece’s international creditors as well as Greeks themselves, who have withdrawn hundreds of millions of euros from banks since the May 6 election. Council of State head Panagiotis P...

EU navy, helicopters strike pirate supply centerMOGADISHU, Somalia (AP) — European Union naval forces in attack helicopters on Tuesday conducted their first onshore raid on a suspected pirate lair in Somalia. A pirate said the strike destroyed a supply center and set back operations. No deaths were reported in the morning attack on Handulle village, about 18 kilometers (11 miles) north of Haradhere town, a key pirate lair. EU officials said forces did not go on land during the attack in Som...

Greece to head to polls again after talks collapseATHENS, Greece (AP) — Greece headed into a month of political uncertainty after power-sharing talks collapsed Tuesday, triggering new elections that could determine whether the country retains its tenuous position in Europe’s currency. Nine tortured days of fruitless talks to build a coalition government fueled increasing doubt that Greece can make enough reforms to prevent the world’s largest currency union from fracturing. “We expect the eur...

Mexican novelist, essayist Carlos Fuentes diesMEXICO CITY (AP) — Author Carlos Fuentes, who played a dominant role in Latin America’s novel-writing boom by delving into the failed ideals of the Mexican revolution, died Tuesday in a Mexico City hospital. He was 83. Fuentes died at the Angeles del Pedregal hospital where he was taken after his personal doctor, Arturo Ballesteros, found him in shock in his Mexico City home. Ballesteros told reporters outside the hospital that the writer had ...

Spaniards rage against austerity, grim economyMADRID (AP) — Spaniards angered by increasingly grim economic prospects and unemployment hitting one out of every four citizens protested in droves Saturday in the nation’s largest cities, marking the one-year anniversary of a spontaneous movement that inspired similar anti-authority demonstrations across the planet. The country’s Interior Ministry said 72,000 people marched against the government’s tough austerity measures in Madrid, Barcelon...

Greek president in last-ditch coalition effortATHENS, Greece (AP) — Greece’s president will meet with political party leaders Sunday in a last-ditch effort to broker a deal for a coalition government and avoid another general election. Karolos Papoulias took the step Saturday after socialist leader Evangelos Venizelos officially gave up the mandate to form a coalition government after three rounds of negotiations proved fruitless Papoulias’ office announced that the president would meet i...

In Egypt turmoil, thieves hunt pharaonic treasuresCAIRO (AP) — Taking advantage of Egypt’s political upheaval, thieves have gone on a treasure hunt with a spree of illegal digging, preying on the country’s ancient pharaonic heritage. Illegal digs near ancient temples and in isolated desert sites have swelled a staggering 100-fold over the past 16 months since a popular uprising toppled Hosni Mubarak’s 29-year regime and security fell apart in many areas as police simply stopped doing their jo...

Yemen: US drone strikes kill 11 al-Qaida militantsSANAA, Yemen (AP) — Two suspected U.S. drone strikes killed 11 al-Qaida militants in southern Yemen on Saturday, Yemeni military officials said. The first attack took place near the border of Marib and Shabwa provinces southeast of the capital, Sanaa, killing six militants, including one Egyptian national, the officials said. The second strike hit two cars in Marib, killing five al-Qaida-linked fighters. Over the past year, parts of Marib, Sha...

Israel envoy meets with Palestinian presidentJERUSALEM (AP) — An Israeli envoy met with Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas on Saturday and delivered a letter from Prime Minister Benjamin Netanayahu detailing his government’s stance on stalled peace negotiations. Yitzhak Molcho held talks with Abbas in the West Bank city of Ramallah, the seat of the Palestinians’ government. The modest exchange was the highest-level communication between the Palestinians and Israelis in months. Netanyahu...

Vatican eyes Legion priests on abuseVATICAN CITY (AP) — The Vatican is investigating seven priests from the troubled Legion of Christ religious order for alleged sexual abuse of minors — evidence the scandal over the order’s pedophile founder doesn’t rest solely with him, The Associated Press has learned. Two other Legion priests are being investigated by the Vatican’s Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith for alleged sacramental violations, believed to involve abusing spir...